Image Courtesy of Runner's Edge

This week (download here), the Geeks are excited to talk to Certified Sport Psychology Consultant Dr. Cindra Kamphoff of Runner’s Edge Minnesota.  Dr. Kamphoff is a Certified Sport Psychology Consultant who specializes in the psychology of running and marathoning, and is an accomplished runner herself.

Dr. Kamphoff talks about strategies that help in building mental toughness, confidence, and remaining motivated in marathon training. She made the observation that most runners focus a lot on the physical training that comes with endurance activities but very few take the time to build the mental strength that is necessary to have a great performance. She also mentions other aspects of the psychology of running such addiction, and race day anxiety.

However, Dr. Kamphoff also talks about the benefits of endurance activities such as running – some of which include anxiety relief, help fight against depression symptoms, promote overall well-being etc.. Besides that, a huge benefit of endurance running is attaining flow – She recommends a great book – Flow in Sports: The keys to optimal experiences and performances by Susan Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

We hope this episode got your mind going (yes, pun intended). If you would like to discuss this more, head over to our facebook page and let’s talk about it.

Until next time, leave feedback on iTunes,  email questions and comments to feedback [at] GeeksInRunningShoes [dot] com or just ‘like us’ on facebook! Also follow us on Twitter, Jason (@guttocutwl) and Ray (@adeyemiking).

Peace!